Center for Colorado Women’s History promotes representation and education through exhibitions
March 27, 2025
Courtesy of History Colorado
Since 2018, the Center for Colorado Women’s History has worked to preserve, understand and highlight the stories of local female figures throughout time.
About the Center for Colorado Women’s History and History Colorado
Cat Jensen, the education coordinator at the Center for Colorado Women’s History, said the center is located in a “historic house museum;” before a recent shift, it focused on highlighting the stories of the people who lived in the house.
“For the first only couple decades of the museum's history, which has been a museum open to the public since the 1990s, the focus of the museum itself was on the inhabitants who lived there for nearly 100 years,” Jensen said.
The center is one of History Colorado’s museums. According to their website, History Colorado is a state charitable organization with 11 museums and sites that have history-centered exhibits; they also keep and maintain historic items in the state’s collection, and they operate several additional resources and programs.
Exploring an upcoming exhibit
The Center for Colorado Women’s History offers rotating opportunities to learn about the state’s historical female figures in the form of temporary exhibits.
According to Jensen, History Colorado’s next temporary exhibit, “Ms. Destiny,” will look at how seven Colorado women navigated challenges in their eras by approaching them with creative “superpowers.”
Jensen said the exhibit will consider what each woman’s life was like and the opportunities each was seeking, including those related to finances and their abilities to support themselves.
This exhibit will open on April 4, and it can be viewed until March of 2026 by purchasing a general admission ticket. More information on viewing the exhibit once it opens can be found here.
Figures and themes on display
Courtesy of History Colorado
When visitors view “Ms. Destiny,” Jensen said they will learn about Kathy Williams and her life in the Civil War era.
“One of the women who's featured is Kathy Williams, who was the only woman Buffalo soldier in an all-black regiment in the Civil War, and she cut her hair, and disguised herself as a man and got a job as a cook,” Jensen said.
According to the History Colorado website and Jensen, visitors can book a women’s history tour, which will include information related to any temporary exhibits and access to the second floor of the museum.
Those who take the tour will get to learn more about Ellis Meredith. Jensen said that Meredith was a suffragist and the first female journalist in Colorado; she covered the legislature in 1894, the first year women got to vote, worked in politics and testified to the House of Representatives regarding a suffrage amendment.
Jensen added that those who take the tour have the chance to view a symbolic photo of Meredith.
“We have a really famous photo of her where she's riding a bike, because of bikes and their connection to the vote and what they began to symbolize for moving into the outdoors, having more autonomy, taking up space; and so, when you come on our tour, you can experience that photo and learn more about suffrage history,” Jensen said.
One of the themed rooms in the museum is full of items that represent female roles in World War I; Jensen said items like a Red Cross uniform invite deeper conversations about women in history.
Jensen also mentioned the museum has a smaller dining room-themed exhibit.
Courtesy of History Colorado
“If guests come to visit and they don't necessarily want to do a full tour, they can experience a small exhibit that's currently in what historically, as part of the house, was the dining room, but we have a table that's set and it's set for various Colorado women from across the state,” Jensen said.
Other upcoming engagement opportunities and resources
Below are some upcoming museum events and dates that Jensen shared:
The Center for Colorado Women’s History has several free days throughout the year. There will be one on April 29, El Día del Niño, when Jensen said the museum will offer additional activities for children and families.
During the summer, the museum will stay open until 7 p.m. Visitors can engage in specialty programming, take tours and enjoy their gardens. More information on the Tuesday Night Summer Socials can be found here.
August 26 will be Women’s Equality Day, and the museum will work with the community to focus more on women’s suffrage.
“That's always a big opportunity for us as well. We bring in a lot of community partners and do some more history on women's suffrage," Jensen said.
Jensen said that History Colorado includes female figures in all exhibits across its sites. She encourages people to explore their resources with this in mind.
“There's a lot of intention behind making sure that intersectional identities are recorded and represented, and I think that any exhibit you visit at History Colorado, you'll find women and [assigned female at birth] experience represented within that experience,” Jensen said.
Jensen also recommended History Colorado’s blog to anyone looking for more learning resources.
Additional Information
The Center for Colorado Women’s History is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. General admission tickets for adults aged 19 and over are $7. Seniors aged 60 and over enter for $5, and children aged 18 and under enter for free.
More information on tour times, purchasing tickets, arranging field trips with more than eight students and upcoming events can be found on the center’s website.
Those interested can follow the Center for Colorado Women’s History on Instagram or Facebook.
